Most web resources are intended for use by desktop and laptop personal computers (PCs). This means that they are often unsuitable for use by mobile communication devices. Web resources, typically web sites and web pages, may include script, graphics, images, animations, video data, audio data, layouts etc. that are not supported by a mobile communication device. For example, a web site may include objects encoded using Java® or Adobe® Flash script, but a mobile communication device may not have the correct software to use such objects. Similarly, an image on a web site may be too large to be displayed on a mobile communication device.
It is known to convert web resources intended for use by PCs to be suitable for use by mobile communication devices. This conversion is known as transcoding and is often carried out by mobile network operators. When the user of a mobile communication device seeks access to a given web resource via the mobile communication network, instead of the mobile communication device being provided with the web resource itself, it is provided with a transcoded version of the web resource.
In more detail, the mobile communication device may send a request for a web resource, which request includes an internet domain name, e.g. “bobspizzashop.com”. The mobile network retrieves the web resource from the web server using the internet domain name (or, more specifically, an Internet Protocol (IP) address for the server at which the web resource is located, which IP address can be retrieved from the Domain Name System (DNS) of the internet using the internet domain name). However, instead of delivering the web resource straight to the mobile communication device, the operator of the mobile network first transcodes the web resource.
Typically, the transcoding involves identifying the type of mobile communication device that made the request and adapting the web resource to be suitable for that device. For example, if the web resource is encoded using script that is not supported by the type of mobile communication device, the web resource may be converted to script that is supported by the type of mobile communication device. Similarly, an image included in the web resource may be resized to suit the limitations of the display of the mobile communication device.
Transcoding of web resources in this way faces some difficulties. In particular, as the initial web resources are designed without the subsequent transcoding process in mind, the results can be variable and imperfect. For example, the transcoded web resource may vary according to the mobile network operator which carried out the transcoding. The owner of the initial web resource therefore has little control over the user experience when accessing the web resource via a mobile communication device. This is clearly undesirable from the perspective of the owner of the web resource.
In view of the above, many web resources are specifically encoded for use by mobile communication devices. Usually, web resources specifically encoded for use by mobile communication devices are based on web resources intended for use by PCs. For example, an organisation may have two web sites, one for use by PCs and the other specifically encoded for use by mobile communication devices. This allows the owner of the web resources to control the user experience even when the web resources are accessed on a mobile communication device.
However, the provision of separate web resources that are specifically encoded for use by mobile communication devices is only effective if the users of mobile communication devices are able to access them. For example, where a company has two web sites, one for use by PCs and the other specifically encoded for use by mobile communication devices, the mobile communication device must access the correct web site if it is to make use of the web resources that have been specifically encoded for it. However, there is currently no predictable way in which a user may be alerted as to the presence or otherwise and location of web resources specifically encoded for mobile communication devices.
The complexity of the above difficulties is increased by the variety of capabilities of different mobile communication devices. The owner of a web resource may wish to provide separate versions of that resource specifically encoded for different types of mobile communication device which will access the resource. However, providing a large variety of web resources makes even more difficult for users to locate the appropriate resource for their mobile communication device. As a result, owners of web resources are typically hesitant to make the necessary investment to optimise those web resources for each type of mobile communication device. This leads to a limited user experience.